Democratic Win Puts Silicon Valley’s MAGA Bets Under Scrutiny

Hoffman, a LinkedIn cofounder and investor who donated nearly $40 million this cycle, said prominent tech figures’ support for the administration as it harmed Americans had cost the industry trust. On Wednesday morning, some prominent right-leaning investors, including Marc Andreessen of a16z and David Sacks of Craft, who served as the White House’s AI and crypto czar, had yet to comment publicly. Left-leaning investors, by contrast, were keen to say they had never joined the MAGA bandwagon.

AI data centers were among the election’s prominent targets, and Goldman Sachs estimated that nearly half of planned US data-center capacity could be affected by results in Texas and elsewhere. One venture capitalist said the outcome could make it harder for startups, from OpenAI to smaller AI labs, to secure computing capacity and could affect valuations across the sector.

A possible setback for Silicon Valley’s political donors came with California’s billionaire tax, which appeared headed for defeat in state election results. John Doerr, Vinod Khosla, Ron Conway and Peter Thiel were among those who opposed it.

Most venture capitalists and founders, however, prefer to avoid politics and focus on product launches, fundraising and hiring. An investor who has backed prominent funds told the newsletter during the 2024 presidential race that VCs should stay out of politics unless defending the startup ecosystem. The newsletter’s writers described that restraint as unlikely.

Sequoia Capital also drew attention with changes announced during the election: it is closing its London office, ending its Scout program and dropping Monday partner meetings. A person familiar with the firm’s thinking said the meeting change was intended to help it move quickly and make decisions faster. Sequoia said it would continue investing in Europe.

Synthesia CEO and cofounder Victor Riparbelli said there were not enough European deals to justify an office. Ann Bordetsky, a board partner at NEA and head of business development at Factory, argued the more consequential change was Sequoia’s move away from weekly meetings toward a continuous deal cycle and faster decisions.